Hunter has been making Wellington Boots in Scotland since 1856. They were originally designed for walking in Scotland's rugged terrain and combating its unpredictable weather due to their performance, durability and comfort. Each pair of Hunter Boots is made entirely by hand, and Hunter develops various models to cope with various types of weather.

The company is reporting a year-on-year growth to the end of February 2005 of 41 percent (Hunter has a 60 percent share of the overall market) for its 60 lines of boots and 35 lines of clothing and accessories, which it supplies to 18 countries worldwide.

Hunter also said it has recently changed its business model from a traditional manufacturing-focused operation toward the sales and distribution market. This shift has led to an increased demand for a more customer-centric planning system.

Hunter selected STYLEman ERP because of its ability to monitor and track orders across the entire production process, thereby monitoring progress throughout.

STYLEman was developed by OSL expressly for the apparel and footwear industry, and is an Internet-enabled import, distribution, production and retail application. OSL said STYLEman will provide Hunter with the ability to view an order's status in real-time, from the sourcing of raw materials to the location of the finished product.

"STYLEman replaces the incumbent application, which wasn't designed with sales and distribution in mind," explained Mark Sater, chairman, Hunter Rubber Co. "STYLEman is a tried and tested formula, supported by a strong development team. It made sense to use OSL. Since the transition from a manufacturing business a year ago, our sales have increased dramatically. Sales are expected to grow by a further 50 percent when STYLEman is fully installed."